Florida to Close 1,400-Bed 'Alligator Alcatraz' by Early June After Costly Legal Fights
Updated
Updated · CNN · May 12
Florida to Close 1,400-Bed 'Alligator Alcatraz' by Early June After Costly Legal Fights
14 articles · Updated · CNN · May 12
Early June is the target for removing detainees from Florida's Everglades detention site, with vendors and state contractors told the facility will then be dismantled over the following weeks.
The shutdown follows nearly a year of legal challenges, rising operating costs that have run into the millions, and allegations that migrants faced cages, sweltering heat, bug infestations and poor meals.
About 1,400 people were held there as of early April, and it remains unclear where they will go, though Ron DeSantis said they could be transferred to DHS facilities.
Opened last summer on a runway less than 50 miles from Donald Trump's Miami-area resort, the center had been promoted by Republicans as part of Trump's immigration crackdown even as lawsuits forced better attorney access.
Does this costly closure impact the broader national strategy for building new large-scale immigration detention centers?
What fate awaits the 1,400 detainees being transferred, and will their new conditions be an improvement?
After a half-billion-dollar facility closes in under a year, what is the plan for the dismantled site and its costs?